Invitation to the Rigorosum of Paula Maya Strunden
The Institute for Art and Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna kindly invites you to the rigorosum of Paula Maya Strunden´s dissertation project bodies, objects, spaces — Exploring Multisensory Spatial Perception through Extended Reality Models.
The Examination Panel is made up of: Univ.-Prof. Mag. PhD. Elke Krasny (chair), Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Ing. Angelika Schnell (first supervisor), and Prof. Dr.ir. Lara Schrijver (second appraiser, University of Antwerp).
Abstract
Framed within critical, feminist, and new materialist perspectives, this design-based research investigates the impact of Extended Reality (xR) technologies on multisensory spatial perceptions. Building upon the concept of embodied virtuality pioneered by female VR pioneers in the early 1990s, this study challenges conventional dichotomies between actual and virtual spaces, exploring xR’s potential to reveal tacit knowing in architecture through firsthand experience.
Drawing on theories of 4E cognition (embodied, enacted, embedded, and extended) and interdisciplinary insights from human-computer interaction, cognitive science, and philosophy, the research develops the educational platform xR Atlas and three case studies termed Extended Reality Models (xRM).These experimental and experiential models—Rhetorical Bodies: An xR Dance Performance, Infra-thin Magick: An xR Ceremony, and Alison’s Room: An xR Archive—examine transformative cognitive effects through embodied experiences triggered by physical interaction with virtual bodies, objects, and spaces. Drawing on these case study experiences, this study proposes a fifth dimension, termed enveloped cognition, which sheds light on the underlying epistemological frameworks of xRMs and their dual potential as generative tools for creating new perspectives and investigating their operational apparatus. This spatiotemporal layer reveals the dynamic relationship between embodied perception and cognition through inhabiting hybrid spatial environments.
The findings of this thesis highlight the importance of design-based research, interdisciplinary frameworks and critical-speculative perspectives in shaping and conceptualizing future design approaches for xR. Furthermore, this research provides an alternative map to explore the potential and historical aspects of virtual technologies beyond the dominant narratives of the tech industry.
Short biography
Paula Strunden studied architecture in Vienna, Paris and London and worked at Raumlabor Berlin and Herzog & de Meuron Basel. Her design-led PhD has been developed within the European research network TACK (Communities of Tacit Knowledge: Architecture and its Ways of Knowing) at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna from 2020-2024. Her interdisciplinary work specialises in embodied and multisensory virtuality, exploring the intersection of architecture and extended reality (xR). Her performative xR installations have been exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts London, Nieuwe Insituut Rotterdam and Eye Filmmuseum Amsterdam and were nominated for the Dutch Film Award Gouden Calf in 2020 and 2023. Through her internet platform, xR Atlas, she promotes an interdisciplinary historiography of virtual technologies and the recognition of female pioneers in VR.
The rigorosum will be in English and will take place hybrid, at Prospekthof at Lehárgasse 8, 1060 Vienna, and online via Zoom.
We are looking forward to welcoming you.
3 – 4 pm Exhibition of Extended Reality Models (1. Rhetorical Bodies, 2. Infra-thin Magick, 3. Alison’s Room)
4 – 4:45 pm Presentation
4:45 – 5:30 pm Discussion
Zoom Meeting (start 4 pm): https://akbild-ac-at.zoom.us/j/66026056071
Zoom-Meeting-ID: 660 2605 6071